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There’s a new cast in town….and it isn’t made of fiberglass or plaster!!! It is called Functional Cast Therapy. As a progressive hand therapy clinic, we are always looking to provide our patients with the best products to achieve patient comfort and maximal functional outcomes. Over the years we have always placed our patients in materials consisting of various casting and splinting materials. Some patients have been placed in prefabricated wrist braces in order to give support or to restrict motion. Others, were placed in custom fabricated splints made of varying types of thermoplastic material. This material is plastic and heat sensitive. A therapist heats up the plastic and is able to cut the material and then mold and adjust it to fit a patient. This can be placed on their finger, hand, wrist and elbow.
Today, we can now provide another variation to casting/ splinting using a latex- free elasticized polyester material. Here at the Foundry Hand Therapy Clinic, we are pleased to announce that our therapist are the first in the state to provide this for our patients. We are all very excited about this technology as it it easy to apply, simple to remove, extremely durable, lightweight and washable! Thats right - washable!! A cast that can get wet in a pool, shower or simply cleaned!!!
Since the material is made of polyester, It is not temperature sensitive and will not fall apart in water. You can even put it in the dishwasher or your dryer!!!
BUT WAIT!!! THERE’S MORE!!!!
How does it come off?
Using Functional Cast Therapy, the cast can be removed for bathing, washing of the cast and for exercise. The trained therapist can adjust and cut the cast for easy removal simply with special scissors!! Thats right!! Scissors!! No noisy cast saws which can be scary for any patient as well as children. It can also aid in patients with acute injuries that have swelling or patients that may feel claustrophobic.
This is too good…..what about athletes???
Using Functional Cast Therapy we here at Foundry can get athletes back in the game safely instead of watching from the bench or sidelines. We can work closely with our local teams and assist their coaches and Athletic Trainers to keep their athletes safe, allow them to recover and still compete with their injuries. Players can be fit to allow them to stabilize their injuries and can even fabricate them to fit in gloves!!
Are these braces just for fractures?
Absolutely not! Functional Cast Therapy can be used for patients simply needed support, a night splint and to help prevent further injuries. There is no need to have new ones fabricated because the material will not break down like a cast and again since it is so easy to clean it will stay fresh during the entire healing process!!
Does the process take long to have a functional cast made?
Absolutely not! The material will set in approximately three to five minutes and under normal conditions, the cast is weight bearing ready in 20 minutes! They even come in various colors for those of you who want to match your outfits or favorite sports team!
